Sisterhood
by Laurie Jupiter
Summary: Piper had always looked up to her oldest sister. A reflection on her relationship with Prue. Piper POV.


**Sisterhood**

**Summary**: Piper had always looked up to her oldest sister. A reflection on her relationship with Prue. Piper POV.

**Disclaimer: **Charmed does not belong to me.

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><p>When Piper was little, Prue was always in charge of the games. In house play, Prue was the mother and Piper was the daughter. There was no husband and Phoebe wasn't allowed because she was just a baby.<p>

"Why can't I be the mom just this once, Prue?" She whined, crossing her arms over her chest with a pout.

Prue rolled her eyes. "I'm the oldest, Piper, so I'm in charge."

Piper protested some more and the game was soon forgotten in the midst of fighting.

"But why can't I?" She aked one more time, determined to get her way.

"'Cause you're not old enough _and_ I'm readier than ever to become a mommy!" Prue answered smartly with a grin, so sassily in the familiar way that was just so her when she grew up.

Piper isn't sure why she remembers that particular memory the most, or why it even sticks out like a sore thumb in the back of her mind. Maybe because it had a ring of truth to it as Prue grew older and as she became the facillitator in the back and forth arguments of Phoebe and her oldest sister. For as long as she could remember, Prue had been there to guide them and usher them into becoming the young women they were today. Of course, she couldn't say that Prue was pleased with Phoebe for high tailing it to New York, especially since Grams had died.

Piper only hoped that the three of them continued to make it, and with all this death that surrounded them, it left her with a feeling of uncertainty for the future.

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><p>When certain things had come to light - that being witches and Charmed Ones and having uncontrollable powers - it made it harder than ever for her wish to come true.<p>

That fiasco with Jeremy proved just how dangerous this magic and her powers were, but even as the world grew stranger Prue remained constant and strong. She used her powers to defend Piper and Phoebe with a strength that Piper secretly envied over the years.

(_We're gonna be careful, we're gonna be wise and we're gonna stick together_)

Piper never doubted it for one moment, and so they treaded on lightly towards a different world. While Piper had been angry at Grams and her mother for concealing this part of their heritage, she can't help but be grateful to them for bringing Phoebe back. For making them sisters in a way that could never be be said without so much meaning and bond.

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><p>It's when Andy died that Prue became too overwhelmed to shield her emotions from her sisters. It's the first time Piper saw her unravel so painfully. Even when she was little, she always had this image of Prue as the ultimate sister; able, caring, smart Prue. Never one to cry when she trips or scrapes her knee, or when Grams yells at her for playing ball inside the house.<p>

This is the first time she notices that while Prue was strong willed, straight and proud, she wasn't superwitch. It pains Piper to see her oldest sister so distressed and in so much pain and that's when she realizes that Prue can't be mother and sister all the time.

It's time Piper stepped up to the plate, but as usual, Prue never let her.

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><p>After Prue's death, yet another revelation of their mother's secret past came to life; a half-sister given away at birth.<p>

In the beginning, Piper had been cool and distant. She saw Paige Matthews for what she was, a relation that was never a relation, an outsider recently discovered trying to fit into their circle. A circle that comprised of Prue, Piper and Phoebe. It angered her that someone could just come in and fill up the spot that was always reserved for her older sister, and she wondered if the feeling ever left her sometime afterwards.

Paige came in with the same reservations, but Piper could not shake the anger and the emptiness that lingered just beneath her heart. When she turned into a Fury, all of her grief and anger unleashed in its raw form, she thought she had found a freedom that she never could have before. Now she was free to mourn Prue without the pretense of being strong for the family, of holding it together for Phoebe.

(_It's okay to hate Prue_)

It was Paige who had understood her, and who had surprised her the most. She had not lost Prue, and yet Paige - this complete stranger - had reached a part of her that even Phoebe could not comprehend.

It takes her the entire night, as she lay in her bed pretending to sleep, to think of Paige as more than a replacement. In a whirlwind of confusion and pain, five words that she had spoken helped Piper breathe more easily. It made living more bearable, because she never once imagined life without her oldest sister.

And this is the reason why she finds it easy to make muffins for Paige the next morning, because while they may be miles away from sisterhood, it could be the start of something.


End file.
